1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a surfboard, in particular surfboards that are powered by various types of stored energy, or generated and stored energy, especially clean energy.
2. Description of Prior Art
Background—Surfing and Surfboards
Surfing is a person riding down a breaking wave, conventionally gathering speed from the downward and forward movement. A breaking ocean wave is called the “surf.” Surfing can also occur on a standing wave in a river or in a man-made artificial wave. The most common form of surfing utilizes a surfboard, which come in various lengths, shapes, and sizes.
Surfing originated in Polynesia and was first observed by Europeans in 1767. Traditional Hawaiian surfboards were made of wood such as koa or wiliwili, were heavy, and were as long as eighteen feet.
Prior to the 1930s, surfboards did not have fins. First keel fins were added, and then, in the 1940s the shape of the fin evolved to that used today. Also in the 1940s, hollow fiberglass or wooden surfboards had wooden cores. In the 1950s, foam cores became common. In the 1960s, smaller more agile “short boards” were developed. In the 1970s, more than one fin became common.
Background—Motorized Surfboard-Like Personal Watercraft
Over the last four decades, several attempts have been made to create powered surfboard using gasoline combustion engines. However, in practice these are very heavy water craft that are in essence a stand-up jet ski with the ability to go up to 40 miles per hour. These are commonly used on flat water rather than being true surfboards, used in ocean surf. Examples include the 1968 Jet Board, the now defunct Motorboard International's Surfjet (which weighed 135 pounds and required wheels to take it up the beach), and the similar Surfango PowerSurf FX (which weights 112 pounds).
Robert Montgomery, currently of PowerSki International Corporation, was issued U.S. Design Pat. No. D355,400 on Feb. 14, 1995. The Montgomery design shows a device similar to the Surfjet having a relative large engine compartment in the center of the watercraft and a flexible control handle.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,192,817 was issued Feb. 27, 2001, to Andrzej and Piotr Dec. The Dec patent discloses a watercraft similar to the Montgomery design having low profile internal combustion engine, a water pump, and complicated exhaust cooling and muffling assembly.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,702,634 was issued Mar. 9, 2004, to Koock Jung. The Jung patent discloses a motor and a cylindrical propeller both mounted under a surfboard. The Jung patent also discloses a retractable stop apparatus that functions as a water brake and automatic turning mechanism, and optional handle bars.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,901,872 was issued Jun. 7, 2005, to Darwin and Guama Battle. The Battle patent discloses a surfboard similar to the Surfjet but having two external propellers. The Battle patent discloses use of an internal combustion motor, or an electric motor with a battery pack.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,207,282 was issued Apr. 24, 2007, to Chia-Wen Ruan, et al. The Ruan patent discloses a prior art propeller unit that removably attaches to the back end of a surfboard, and a claimed propeller driven device that attaches under a surfboard. The Ruan patent further discloses that the motor control can be electrically wired or wireless.
Background—Electric Motors with Rechargeable Batteries on Surfboards
United States Patent Application Publication 2003/0167991 published Sep. 11, 2003, Stan Namanny. The Namanny publication discloses a kit for converting a conventional surfboard into a motorized one. The kit comprises a nickel cadmium battery powered electric motor attached to a fin. The kit is designed to replace a fin, or attach to a fin, on an otherwise unaltered surfboard. The kit also includes a conventional battery charger used to charge the batteries before going into the ocean, providing up to one hour of continuous operation per battery charge. Notably Namanny teaches that the kit is used to assist a surfer in paddling away from shore at a low rate of speed.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,226,329 was issued Jun. 5, 2007, to Mike Railey. The Railey patent discloses a surfboard having two internally mounted electric motors powered by lithium batteries to drive impellers. The Ruan patent further discloses board surface mounted hand throttle controls as well as wireless control.
Background—Waterwheels
Unrelated to the field of surfing, waterwheels have been used to harness power from moving water. A waterwheel is a machine for converting the energy of flowing or falling water into more useful forms of power, a process known as hydropower or water power. In the Middle Ages, waterwheels were used as tools to power mills and factories. A waterwheel comprises a wheel with buckets or blades arranged on the outside rim to form a driving surface.
Background—Water Powered Turbine Generators
Unrelated to the field of surfing, turbine generators are known to generate electricity using a turbine having a plurality of blades to drive a generator shaft. The generator shaft drives an electrical generator to produce electricity. The main difference between early waterwheels and a turbine is a swirl component of the water which passes energy to a spinning rotor allowing the turbine to be smaller, spin faster, and process greater flow.
Water turbine generators provide clean, renewable energy.
In some embodiments, a turbine generator may also function as an electric motor and a pump.
Background—Capacitors
Unrelated to the field of surfing, a capacitor is a passive electronic component consisting of a pair of conductors separated by a non-conductive region, known as a dielectric. When a voltage potential difference exists between the conductors, an electric field is present in the dielectric. The electric field stores energy between the conductors. The effect is greatest between wide, flat, parallel, narrowly separated conductors or plates. In practice, the dielectric between the plates passes a small amount of leakage current, thus unlike batteries, capacitors are substantially better for sort term storage and recharge than for long term storage.
Capacitors can be formed by rolling the conductors in a tight spiral forming a cylinder. The cylinder can then be placed in a canister.
More recently, supercapacitors have been made from carbon aerogel, carbon nanotubes, or highly porous electrode materials. These supercapacitors provide extremely high capacitance.
Background—Solar Cells and Solar Power
Unrelated to the field of surfing, a solar cell is a photovoltaic device that converts light, especially sunlight, directly into electricity. Assemblies of solar cells are arranged to form solar panels. Solar power from solar cells is an excellent for clean, renewable energy.
Background—Hydrogen
Unrelated to the field of surfing, is hydrogen-based power. Hydrogen power is an excellent form of clean, renewable energy.
When hydrogen combines with oxygen it produces heat energy and pure water. Pure hydrogen and oxygen can be obtained by splitting water. The energy needed to split the water can come from the sun or from stored electricity. Hydrogen is a gas and may be stored in pressurized tanks or chemically, such as metal hydrides to reduce the volume. Hydrogen can be then be burned cleanly to power an internal combustion engine with only water as its exhaust. Alternatively, hydrogen can react in a fuel cell to directly produce electricity, which can then cleanly power an electric motor.
Background—Problems Associated with Surfboards
Surfing became very popular in the 1960s. As many surfers age, they loose stamina and strength, and often they suffer joint problems that affect their ability to paddle out to waves and, more importantly, to have enough thrust to catch big wave.
Younger potential surfers are distracted from the sport because of the difficulty of learning the surf, most notably having enough thrust at the right time to catch the wave. These potential surfers are have many other sports to choose from including riding personal watercraft such as jet skis, wake boarding, body boarding, wind surfing, kitesurfing, sea kayaking, snow boarding, skating, skate boarding, and biking.
Many of the best surf spots drop the surfer into hazardous conditions such as shallow reefs and rocky shorelines. Examples are found at Poipu and Mavericks. Once a surfer ends up on the reef or rocks it is difficult to swim out of danger against an onslaught of crashing waves.
Many of the best surf spots are crowded so that it is becoming more difficult to avoid hitting other surfers who are on other types of boards (long boards versus short boards, or body boards).
Ocean surfers also encounter sharks and are sometime mistaken for wounded seals and are bitten by sharks. After being bitten, surfer may have difficulty swimming back to shore.
Attempts to create gasoline-powered surfboards have not been very successful or accepted by the surfing culture. They pollute the water and air and contribute to global warming. They also are complicated, expensive, heavy, and difficult transport. Further, they are regulated by government entities and may require EPA testing.
What is needed is a low cost, light weight, portable, powered surfboard that can be used to surf ocean waves, and, in particular, to provide a short burst of thrust to catch an wave or avoid a hazard. Further, what is needed is a powered surfboard that uses clean, renewable energy. Further, what is needed is an electric powered surfboard that can be recharged while in the water using solar, waterwheel, or water turbine generators.